Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gear assembly including an epicycloidal gear arrangement suitable for use in motorized adjustment of a vehicle seat. In particular, the gear assembly includes a planetary gear having a contact surface that is shaped to reduce contact surface stress.
Description of the Related Art
Actuators are frequently used to adjust vehicle seat position. For example, a seat height adjustment actuator includes a drive motor and a gear assembly that connects the drive motor to the vehicle seat while reducing the drive motor output speed and increasing the drive motor output torque. Although such actuators are well known, they are relatively complex devices that are expensive to manufacture and assemble.